JP4619023B2 - Car navigation system, navigation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle navigation device that guides a host vehicle to a destination according to a recommended route.

  Compared to general navigation devices that display routes on a map, the vehicle guidance that is easy for the user to understand is provided by displaying an arrow indicating the course of the vehicle on the image in front of the vehicle captured by the camera. A navigation device is known (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-23305

  The navigation device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 informs the user of the remaining distance to the guidance intersection by voice and is not displayed on the captured image. Therefore, there is a problem that the remaining distance to the guidance intersection is not known even if the captured image is viewed.

The vehicle-mounted navigation device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a display control unit that displays a captured image of the front of the host vehicle captured by the imaging unit that captures the front of the host vehicle, and a recommended route that is set in advance from the host vehicle position. Based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means and the position on the captured image and the next guidance intersection in real space based on the distance to the next guidance intersection in Remaining distance display that displays the remaining distance scale on the captured image by determining the display position and numerical value of the remaining distance scale that represents the correspondence with the distance to the distance, and displaying the numerical value at that display position on the captured image and means, remaining distance display means, the position of the vanishing point in the captured image is regarded as the position of the next guide intersection, and starting from the position of the next guide intersection in the captured image Along a straight line extending toward the lower end direction of the display monitor Te, and displays the remaining distance scale for each interval corresponding to the distance on the predetermined real space.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle navigation device of the first aspect , the vehicle-mounted navigation device further includes a determination unit that determines whether the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation unit is a predetermined value or more. The distance display means displays a remaining distance scale when the determination means determines that the distance to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more, and the remaining distance display means displays the distance to the next guidance intersection. Is determined to be less than the predetermined value, the remaining distance bar indicating the distance to the next guidance intersection is displayed on the captured image by arranging a plurality of figures separated by a predetermined distance unit instead of the remaining distance scale. The number of figures displayed on the remaining distance bar is reduced each time the host vehicle advances a predetermined distance .
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle navigation device of the second aspect , based on a value set in advance according to the installation state of the imaging means and a distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculating means. , Further comprising an intersection display position calculating means for calculating the position of the next guided intersection in the captured image, and the remaining distance display means is configured to include a plurality of figures starting from the position of the next guided intersection calculated by the intersection display position calculating means. The remaining distance bar is displayed by arranging in order in the direction toward the host vehicle.
The invention according to claim 4 is the vehicle-mounted navigation device according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein the determination means determines that the distance to the next guidance intersection is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and less than the predetermined value. And a guidance display means for displaying information for guiding the host vehicle according to the recommended route on the captured image with different contents.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle navigation device according to the fourth aspect , the guidance display means determines the next guidance intersection when the distance to the next guidance intersection is greater than or equal to a predetermined value by the judgment means. The signboard information is displayed on the captured image, and when it is determined that the distance to the next guidance intersection is less than the predetermined value, the traffic information about the next route from the next guidance intersection is displayed on the captured image. Is.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle navigation device of the fifth aspect , the guidance display means changes the display position of the signboard information or the traffic jam information in accordance with the direction in which the host vehicle turns at the next guidance intersection.
The invention of claim 7 includes an in-vehicle navigation device and a distribution server that distributes various types of information to the in-vehicle navigation device, and displays various types of information distributed from the distribution server in the in-vehicle navigation device. In the navigation system that guides to the ground, the distribution server searches the recommended route searched for based on input information from the outside, and information on the guidance intersection in the middle of the recommended route searched by the route search means The vehicle-mounted navigation device is distributed by the information distribution unit and the display control unit that displays the captured image in front of the host vehicle captured by the imaging unit that images the front of the host vehicle. Remaining distance calculation that calculates the distance from the vehicle position to the next guided intersection based on information on the guided intersection And means, based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means, indication of the remaining distance scale representing the correspondence between the distance to the next guide intersection on position and the real space of the captured image position and determines a numerical value, by displaying the numerical value in the display position of the captured image, possess a remaining distance display means for displaying the remaining distance scale on the captured image, the remaining distance display unit, the captured image The position of the vanishing point in is taken as the position of the next guidance intersection, and the distance from the next guidance intersection in the captured image is set to a predetermined distance in the real space along a straight line extending toward the lower end of the display monitor. A remaining distance scale is displayed for each corresponding interval .

  According to the present invention, the captured image in front of the host vehicle is displayed, the distance from the host vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is calculated, and the position on the captured image and the next in the real space are calculated based on the distance. The relationship with the remaining distance to the guidance intersection is represented on the captured image and the remaining distance is displayed. Since it did in this way, a user can know the remaining distance to the next guidance intersection by seeing a captured image.

  A configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. This navigation device is mounted on a vehicle, and on the captured image obtained by imaging the front of the vehicle (own vehicle), various graphics and characters (hereinafter referred to as guidance display) for guiding the vehicle to a destination. ) Are superimposed and displayed. Thus, the host vehicle is guided to the destination without displaying a map like a general navigation device. 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current location detection device 14, a display monitor 15, an input device 16, and a disk drive 17. The disc drive 17 is loaded with a CD-ROM 18 on which map data is recorded.

  A camera 2 is connected to the navigation device 1. The camera 2 is installed at a position suitable for imaging the front of the host vehicle, for example, near the upper part of the windshield of the vehicle. The image picked up by the camera 2 is once input to the control circuit 11 and is output to the display monitor 15 after the above-described guidance display is superimposed thereon. Thereby, guidance of the own vehicle is performed. The specific contents of various figures and characters in the guidance display will be described later.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various processes and controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. The control circuit 11 performs a process to be described later based on the map data recorded on the CD-ROM 18 so that the guidance display is superimposed on the captured image of the camera 2 as described above and displayed on the display monitor 15. Is done.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the host vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro 14a that detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects a vehicle speed, and a GPS sensor that detects a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. 14c and the like. The navigation device 1 can determine a route search start point based on the current location of the host vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14 and obtain a distance to the next guidance intersection.

  The input device 16 has various input switches for the user to set a destination and a transit point (hereinafter simply referred to as a destination), which is realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. The user can set the destination by operating the input device 16 to specify an address, a place name, or the like.

  The disk drive 17 reads map data from the loaded CD-ROM 18. This map data includes route calculation data used to calculate the recommended route to the destination, route guidance data used to guide the vehicle to the destination according to the recommended route, such as an intersection name and a road name, Furthermore, road data representing roads are included. In addition, unlike what is used in the navigation apparatus which displays a general map, the map data recorded on this CD-ROM 18 include background data for displaying a map, drawing data, and the like. It does not have to be.

  In the road data, the minimum unit representing a road section is called a link, and each road is composed of a plurality of links. A point connecting the links is called a node, and each node has position information (coordinate information). The link shape, that is, the shape of the road is determined based on the position information of the node. Although an example using a CD-ROM has been described here, map data may be read from a recording medium other than the CD-ROM, such as a DVD-ROM or a hard disk.

  When the destination is set by the user as described above, the navigation device 1 calculates the route to the destination using the current location (own vehicle position) detected by the current location detection device 14 as a route search start point. A predetermined algorithm is used based on the route calculation data. The vehicle is guided to the destination according to the recommended route thus obtained.

  2 and 3 show examples of images displayed on the display monitor 15 when guiding the host vehicle to the destination. FIG. 2 is an example of a display image when the distance to the next guide intersection (hereinafter simply referred to as the next guide intersection) that the host vehicle should pass when traveling on the recommended route is relatively long. It is an example of a display image when the distance to the guide intersection is relatively short.

  When the distance to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more, for example, 60 m or more, an image as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is displayed. In this display image, a guidance display indicated by reference numerals 20 to 25 is superimposed on the image captured by the camera 2. Hereinafter, the contents represented by each of these guidance displays will be described with reference to FIG.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 20 has shown the relationship between the position on a captured image, and the remaining distance to the next guidance intersection in real space on a captured image with the scale. For example, in the real space, the distance between the building 26 located near the scale marked “200 m” in the captured image and the next guidance intersection is approximately 200 m. In the following description, this guidance display is referred to as a remaining distance scale. Note that the remaining distance scale 20 assumes that the next guidance intersection is at the position of the vanishing point 27 in the captured image. If the distance to the next guidance intersection is relatively long, this may be done. The display position of the scale displayed as the remaining distance scale 20 and the numerical value of the scale can be determined according to a preset relationship according to the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the next guidance intersection.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 21 represents the place name etc. which the road which leads to the next guidance intersection each faces, and represents the content similar to the destination signboard installed on the road. In the following description, this guidance display is referred to as signboard information. Note that the display position of the signboard information 21 changes depending on the direction in which the host vehicle turns at the next guidance intersection. When turning to the right at the next guidance intersection, it is displayed at the upper left of the screen. Conversely, when turning to the left, it is displayed at the upper right of the screen. Thus, by displaying the signboard information 21 on the opposite side of the direction in which the host vehicle is bent, the direction in which the vehicle turns is easily visible. FIG. 2A shows a display example when turning to the right.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 22 represents the rough shape of the next guidance intersection. In the following description, this guidance display is referred to as an enlarged intersection diagram. In this enlarged intersection map 22, the course on which the host vehicle should travel is indicated by an arrow that turns to the right. The guidance display of the code | symbol 23 represents the name of the next guidance intersection. In the following description, this guidance display is referred to as an intersection name.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 24 represents the distance from the present location to the next guidance intersection. In the following description, this guidance display is referred to as remaining distance display. The guidance display of the code | symbol 25 has shown the direction which the own vehicle should bend in the next guidance intersection with the arrow of the right direction. Hereinafter, this guidance display is referred to as a guidance direction.

  Among the guidance displays described above, the signboard information 21 and the intersection name 23 are displayed based on data preset in the map data. In the map data, data for displaying these is set for each intersection (node). Further, for the signboard information 21, different data is set depending on the approach direction to the intersection. However, depending on the intersection and the approach direction, the data of the signboard information 21 may not be set. In that case, the signboard information 21 is not displayed.

  Further, the enlarged intersection map 22 and the guidance direction 25 are obtained by obtaining the road shape at the next guidance intersection based on the map data and selecting from the pattern diagrams stored in advance according to the shape. At this time, the road shape at the next guidance intersection can be obtained in a known manner using the road data in the map data, but the description of the contents is omitted here.

  The display image of FIG. 2A described above is updated at a predetermined update cycle. Therefore, when the host vehicle travels toward the next guidance intersection, for example, the vehicle changes from (a) to (b). In the display image of (b), the values of the remaining distance scale 20 and the remaining distance display 24 are smaller than that of (a) by the distance traveled, and the display position of the remaining distance scale 20 is also changed. In this way, the display image changes as the vehicle travels toward the next guidance intersection so that the distance to the next intersection can be known.

  When the distance to the next guidance intersection becomes smaller than a predetermined value (for example, 60 m), images such as FIGS. 3A and 3B are displayed instead of the display image of FIG. In this display image, guidance displays indicated by reference numerals 30 to 34 are superimposed on the image captured by the camera 2 and displayed. Hereinafter, the contents represented by each of these guidance displays will be described with reference to FIG.

  The guidance display of reference numeral 30 represents the distance from the current location to the next guidance intersection by arranging bar-shaped figures (bars) separated by a predetermined distance (here, 10 m). In FIG. 3 (a), there are five bars from the bar labeled "10m" to the bar labeled "50m", so that the distance from the current location to the next guidance intersection is between 50m and 60m. It represents something. In the following description, this guidance display is called a remaining distance bar. The remaining distance bar 30 is preferably displayed in a semi-transparent color so that a captured image below it can be seen.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 31 represents the traffic congestion information in the road applicable to the course of the own vehicle ahead of the next guidance intersection. An arrow indicates that a traffic jam has occurred, and a difference in the color of the arrow indicates a traffic jam difference (traffic jam or congestion). As is well known, data for representing this traffic jam information is transmitted as VICS information by FM radio waves or beacons. In the following description, this guidance display is simply referred to as traffic jam information. Note that the display position of the traffic jam information 31 also changes depending on the direction in which the host vehicle turns at the next guidance intersection, as with the signboard information 21 described above. That is, when turning to the right at the next guidance intersection, it is displayed at the upper left of the screen, and conversely, when turning to the left, it is displayed at the upper right of the screen. If the traffic information information of the corresponding road has not been received, the traffic information 31 is not displayed.

  The guidance display of the code | symbol 35 has shown the direction which the own vehicle should bend in the next guidance intersection, and represents that it should turn rightward here. In the following description, this guidance display is also referred to as a guidance direction, like the guidance display of reference numeral 25 in FIG. Note that the guide direction 35 is also preferably displayed in a translucent color, similar to the remaining distance bar 30 described above.

  The display positions of the remaining distance bar 30 and the guidance direction 35 described above are determined in accordance with the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image. Starting from the position of the next guidance intersection, the bars of the remaining distance bar 30 are sequentially arranged in the direction toward the host vehicle (downward on the screen), and the guidance direction 35 is displayed on the right side (when turning right). In addition, when making a left turn at the next guidance intersection, a guidance direction 35 is displayed on the left side of the remaining distance bar 30. Therefore, as the position of the next guidance intersection on the captured image moves downward as it approaches the next guidance intersection, the display positions of the remaining distance bar 30 and the guidance direction 35 change downward accordingly. Go. A method for obtaining the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image used at this time will be described later.

  The guidance displays 32 and 33 have the same contents as the enlarged intersection map 22 or the intersection name 23 in FIG. In the following description, these are similarly referred to as enlarged intersection diagrams or intersection names. In addition, since the distance from the present location to the next guidance intersection is known by the above-mentioned remaining distance bar 30, the guidance display corresponding to the remaining distance display 24 of FIG. 2 is not displayed on the display screen of FIG.

  The display image of FIG. 3A described above is also updated at a predetermined update cycle, like the display image of FIG. Therefore, when the host vehicle travels toward the next guidance intersection, the display image changes from (a) to (b), for example. In the display image of (b), the number of remaining distance bars 30 is smaller than that of (a) by the distance traveled. From the bar written “10 m” to the bar written “30 m” Three bars are displayed. Thus, the number of bars decreases every 10 m as the vehicle travels toward the next guidance intersection. Thus, the display image changes in accordance with the traveling of the host vehicle so that the distance to the next intersection can be known.

  Here, a method for obtaining the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image will be described. This can be determined as follows based on the distance from the current location to the next guidance intersection.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of obtaining the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image based on the distance from the current location to the next guidance intersection. (A) has shown the mode when the next guidance intersection is imaged with the camera 2, (b) has shown the picked-up image of the next guidance intersection imaged.

In (a), the ground height at which the camera 2 is installed is h, and the distance from the position of the camera 2 (that is, the current location) to the next guidance intersection is d. In addition, the angle formed by the line-of-sight direction 41 of the maximum range that the camera 2 can image downward with respect to the line-of-sight direction 40 when viewing from the camera 2 at infinity is represented as a maximum viewing angle θ ₀ . At this time, an angle formed by the line-of-sight direction 42 when the next guidance intersection is viewed from the camera 2 and the line-of-sight direction 41 is represented as a viewing angle θ.

If it carries out as mentioned above, the angle (alpha) of the gaze direction 42 with respect to the ground surface 43 can be represented as (alpha) = (theta) _{0- (} theta), as shown in a figure. Thus, the relationship of the following formula (1) is established.
d · tan (θ ₀ −θ) = h (1)

Then (b), the a vanishing point position y ₀ the height from the lower end portion of the captured image to the vanishing point 27, when the height is the intersection position of the lower end portion of the captured image to the next guide intersection is y Between these, the relationship of the following formula (2) is established using the maximum viewing angle θ ₀ and the viewing angle θ of (a). Note that the vanishing point position y ₀ and the intersection position y, for example may be represented by like number of pixels in the display monitor 15.
θ ₀ : y ₀ = θ: y (2)

From the above equations (1) and (2), the following equation (3) can be obtained.
y = (y ₀ / θ ₀ ) · θ
= (Y ₀ / θ ₀ ) · {θ ₀ −tan ⁻¹ (h / d)} (3)

In the above equation (3), the ground height h and the maximum viewing angle θ ₀ are determined by the installation state of the camera 2. Further, the value of the vanishing point position y ₀ is also determined according to the installation state of the camera 2. From this, by setting the values of h, θ ₀ and y ₀ in advance based on the installation state of the camera 2, the intersection using the formula (3) by the distance d from the current location to the next guidance intersection The position y can be calculated. In this way, the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image can be obtained.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of processing executed in the control circuit 11 when the image of FIG. 2 or 3 is displayed on the display monitor 15 to guide the host vehicle to the destination. When this flowchart is executed, it is assumed that a recommended route to the destination is set in advance. In step S <b> 1, a captured image in front of the host vehicle captured by the camera 2 is captured and displayed on the display monitor 15. In step S2, it is determined whether or not there is at least one guidance intersection between the current location and the destination in the set recommended route. If there is one or more guidance intersections, the process proceeds to step S3, and if there is no guidance intersection at the destination, the process proceeds to step S30. Hereinafter, the case where the process proceeds to step S3 will be described.

  In step S3, the distance from the current location to the next guidance intersection is calculated. In step S4, it is determined whether or not the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated in step S3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (60 m in the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3). If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S5, and if it is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S5, based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated in step S3, the remaining distance scale 20 shown in FIG. 2 is superimposed on the captured image and displayed on the display monitor 15. In step S6, it is determined whether or not the signboard information data for the next guidance intersection is set in the map data. If the signboard information data is in the map data, the process proceeds to step S7, and if not, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S7, it is determined whether the vehicle turns in the right or left direction at the next guidance intersection. At this time, the right diagonal or the like is included on the right and the left diagonal or equal is included on the left, so that it corresponds to either the right or the left regardless of the direction of the turn. When turning to the right, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the signboard information 21 of FIG. 2 is displayed at the upper left of the screen, that is, the position of FIG. On the other hand, if the vehicle turns left, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the signboard information 21 is displayed at the upper right of the screen, that is, at a position symmetrical with respect to FIG. When the signboard information 21 is displayed on the display monitor 15 so as to overlap the captured image by executing either step S8 or S9, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S10, the enlarged intersection map 22, the intersection name 23, the remaining distance display 24, and the guide direction 25 in FIG. 2 are displayed on the display monitor 15 so as to overlap the captured image. After executing step S10, the process returns to step S1 to repeat the process described above.

  Next, a case where it is determined in step S4 that the value is less than the predetermined value and the process proceeds to step S20 will be described. In step S20, the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image captured in step S1 is calculated. At this time, it is calculated by the method as described above based on the distance to the next guidance intersection obtained in step S3.

  In step S21, based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated in step S3, the remaining distance bar 30 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the captured image in accordance with the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image calculated in step S22. Is displayed on the display monitor 15. In step S22, it is determined whether or not traffic information has been received for the road corresponding to the destination of the host vehicle. If received, the process proceeds to step S23, and if not received, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S23, as in step S7, it is determined whether the host vehicle turns in the right or left direction at the next guidance intersection. If the vehicle turns to the right, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the traffic jam information 31 of FIG. 3 is displayed at the upper left of the screen, that is, the position of FIG. On the other hand, if the vehicle turns left, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the traffic jam information 31 is displayed at the upper right of the screen, that is, at a position symmetrical with respect to FIG. When the traffic jam information 31 is displayed on the display monitor 15 so as to be superimposed on the captured image by executing either step S24 or S25, the process proceeds to step S26.

  In step S26, the enlarged intersection map 32, the intersection name 33, and the guide direction 35 of FIG. 3 are displayed on the display monitor 15 so as to overlap each other on the captured image. After executing step S26, the process returns to step S1 to repeat the process described above.

  If it is determined in step S2 that there is no guidance intersection, the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, the distance to the destination is displayed over the captured image in front of the host vehicle. At this time, a display form similar to the remaining distance display 24 of FIG. 2 can be used. In the next step S31, it is determined whether or not the destination has been reached. If the destination has not been reached, the process returns to step S30, and the distance to the destination is updated. When arriving at the destination, the processing flow of FIG. 5 is terminated.

According to the embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) A captured image in front of the host vehicle is displayed (step S1), a distance from the host vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is calculated (step S3), and the image is superimposed on the captured image based on the distance. The remaining distance scale 20 (step S5) or the remaining distance bar 30 (step S21) in FIG. 3 is displayed to represent the relationship between the position on the captured image and the remaining distance in the real space to the next guidance intersection. It was decided. Since it did in this way, a user can know the remaining distance to the next guidance intersection by seeing a captured image.

(2) It is determined whether or not the calculated distance from the vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (step S4). If it is determined that the distance is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, a remaining distance scale is displayed. (Step S5) When it is determined that the distance is less than the predetermined value, the remaining distance bar is displayed (Step S21), and the display form is changed. Since it did in this way, it can be set as the display form which is easy to see according to the distance to the next guidance intersection.

(3) When it is determined that the distance from the vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more, the vanishing point in the captured image is regarded as the next guidance intersection and the remaining distance scale is displayed. Since it did in this way, when the distance to the next guidance intersection is comparatively long, a remaining distance scale can be displayed by simple processing.

(4) When it is determined that the distance from the vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is less than the predetermined value, the remaining distance bar is displayed, and the number of displayed bars is reduced each time the vehicle travels the predetermined distance. I decided to go. Furthermore, at this time, the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image is calculated (step S20), and the bars of the remaining distance bar are sequentially displayed in the direction toward the host vehicle from the position. Since it did in this way, when the distance to the next guidance intersection is comparatively short, the distance to the next guidance intersection can be displayed easily by the remaining distance bar.

(5) Furthermore, when it is determined that the distance from the vehicle position to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more, the signboard information 21 (steps S8, 9), the remaining distance display 24, the guidance direction 25 ( A guidance display such as step S10) is displayed, and if it is determined that it is less than the predetermined value, a guidance display such as traffic jam information 31 (steps S24 and 25) and guidance direction 35 (step S26) in FIG. 3 is displayed. Thus, guidance display is performed on the captured image with different contents. Since it did in this way, the guidance display of the content suitable for each can be performed with the case where the distance to the next guidance intersection is comparatively long, and when it is near.

(6) The display position of the signboard information or the traffic jam information is changed according to the direction in which the host vehicle turns at the next guidance intersection (steps S7 to S9, S23 to 25). Since it did in this way, it can be made easy to see the direction which turns in a picked-up image.

  In the above embodiment, when the distance to the next guidance intersection is less than the predetermined value, the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image is calculated, and the remaining distance bar 30 and the guidance direction are adjusted according to the position. The display position of 35 was decided. However, without doing so, the display positions of the remaining distance bar 30 and the guide direction 35 may be fixed regardless of the position of the next guide intersection in the captured image. In this case, the process of step S20 in FIG. 5 may not be executed.

  In the above embodiment, when it is difficult to obtain a captured image in front of the host vehicle such as at night, it may be switched to a night vision image by an infrared camera, or a map like a general navigation device. A screen may be displayed. In this case, the timing of switching from the captured image to the night vision image or the map screen or switching from the night vision image or the map screen to the captured image can be controlled by using information such as the brightness of the camera and the date and time. .

  In the above embodiment, the navigation apparatus describes an example in which various types of guidance display are performed on a captured image based on map data recorded on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. It is not limited to. For example, the present invention can be applied to a communication navigation apparatus that downloads data for guide display from an information distribution center using wireless communication using a mobile phone or the like.

  Explaining an example of the above case, based on input information from the user, search for a recommended route by setting a destination in the information distribution center, information of each guidance intersection in the middle of the recommended route, Data for performing guidance display at each guidance intersection is distributed to the navigation device. The navigation device displays a captured image in front of the host vehicle, detects the host vehicle position, and calculates a distance to the next guide intersection based on information on each guide intersection transmitted from the information distribution center. Then, using the data transmitted from the information distribution center, guidance display is performed with contents corresponding to the distance to the next guidance intersection.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and other modes conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display image when the distance to the next guidance intersection is comparatively long. It is a figure which shows the example of a display image when the distance to the next guidance intersection is comparatively near. It is a figure for demonstrating the method of calculating | requiring the position of the next guidance intersection in a captured image with the distance from the present location to the next guidance intersection. It is a flowchart of the process performed when guiding the own vehicle to the destination.

Explanation of symbols

1 navigation device 2 camera 11 control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Display monitor 16 Input device 17 Disk drive 18 CD-ROM
20 remaining distance scale 21 signboard information 22 enlarged intersection map 23 intersection name 24 remaining distance display 25 guidance direction 30 remaining distance bar 31 traffic jam information 32 enlarged intersection map 33 intersection name 35 guidance direction

Claims (7)

Display control means for displaying on the display monitor a captured image of the front of the host vehicle imaged by the imaging means for imaging the front of the host vehicle;
A remaining distance calculating means for calculating a distance from the vehicle position to the next guidance intersection on a preset recommended route;
Based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means , display of a remaining distance scale indicating the correspondence between the position on the captured image and the distance to the next guidance intersection in real space position and determines a numerical value, by displaying the numerical value in the display position on the captured image, and a remaining distance display means for displaying the remaining distance scale on the captured image,
The remaining distance display means regards the position of the vanishing point in the captured image as the position of the next guidance intersection, and starts from the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image toward the lower end of the display monitor. A vehicle-mounted navigation device , wherein the remaining distance scale is displayed at intervals corresponding to a distance in a predetermined real space along an extending straight line . The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 1 ,
Determination means for determining whether or not the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means is a predetermined value or more;
The remaining distance display means displays the remaining distance scale when the determining means determines that the distance to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more ,
The remaining distance display means, when the determining means determines that the distance to the next guidance intersection is less than a predetermined value, instead of the remaining distance scale, a plurality of figures divided in predetermined distance units. A remaining distance bar representing the distance to the next guidance intersection is displayed on the captured image.
An in-vehicle navigation device characterized in that the number of figures displayed on the remaining distance bar is reduced each time the own vehicle travels the predetermined distance . The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2 ,
The position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image is calculated based on a value set in advance according to the installation state of the imaging means and the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means. An intersection display position calculating means for
The remaining distance display means displays the remaining distance bar by sequentially arranging the plurality of figures in the direction toward the host vehicle, starting from the position of the next guidance intersection calculated by the intersection display position calculating means. An in-vehicle navigation device characterized by that. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 2 or 3 ,
Information for guiding the host vehicle according to the recommended route when the determination means determines that the distance to the next guidance intersection is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and when it is determined that the distance is less than the predetermined value. A vehicle-mounted navigation device further comprising guidance display means for displaying on the captured image with different contents. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 4 ,
The guidance display means includes
When it is determined by the determination means that the distance to the next guidance intersection is a predetermined value or more, the signboard information at the next guidance intersection is displayed on the captured image,
In-vehicle navigation, wherein when it is determined that the distance to the next guidance intersection is less than a predetermined value, traffic congestion information about a route ahead from the next guidance intersection is displayed on the captured image. apparatus. The in-vehicle navigation device according to claim 5 ,
The in-vehicle navigation device, wherein the guidance display means changes a display position of the signboard information or traffic jam information according to a direction in which the host vehicle turns at the next guidance intersection. A navigation system that includes an in-vehicle navigation device and a distribution server that distributes various types of information to the in-vehicle navigation device, and displays various information distributed from the distribution server in the in-vehicle navigation device, thereby guiding the host vehicle to a destination. In the system,
The distribution server
A route search means for searching for a recommended route based on input information from outside,
Information distribution means for distributing information of a guidance intersection in the middle of the recommended route searched by the route search means to the outside;
The in-vehicle navigation device is
Display control means for displaying on the display monitor a captured image of the front of the host vehicle imaged by the imaging means for imaging the front of the host vehicle;
A remaining distance calculating means for calculating a distance from the vehicle position to the next guiding intersection based on the information on the guiding intersection distributed by the information distributing means;
Based on the distance to the next guidance intersection calculated by the remaining distance calculation means , display of a remaining distance scale indicating the correspondence between the position on the captured image and the distance to the next guidance intersection in real space position and determines a numerical value, by displaying the numerical value in the display position on the captured image, possess a remaining distance display means for displaying the remaining distance scale on the captured image,
The remaining distance display means regards the position of the vanishing point in the captured image as the position of the next guidance intersection, and starts from the position of the next guidance intersection in the captured image toward the lower end of the display monitor. A navigation system , wherein the remaining distance scale is displayed at intervals corresponding to a distance in a predetermined real space along an extending straight line .

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